Blueprint
Tuning the Pontiac V-8

Dave was a co-partner with famed ace mechanic Demetri Kokkoris,
the team originally known as SUPERJET SPECIALTIES of Queens, NY.
Superjet rebuilt and blueprinted musclecar engines, specializing in modification
and custom tuning of Rochester Quadrajet carburetors.

Below is an article written by Dave regarding camshaft and
cylinder head selection for the Pontiac V-8, one of several articles that
appeared in Pontiac musclecar related publications.

Blueprint
Tuning the Pontiac V-8:

A
Guide for Cam & Head Selection

Valve
timing and compression pressure are the two most important factors that effect
an engine's performance.All other
modifications will be futile unless the valve events and compression pressure
have been carefully dialed in per desired state of tune.Through experimentation, we have developed the following
"formulas" which can help when attempting to create an optimum parts
combo.

The
first thing is to choose a cam grind that will yield the desired manner of
operation.We know from experience
that a cam such as Pontiac's 068 - "H.O." (211/225 - 116 lobe sep.) or
similar will produce a broad torque band in a 400, and thus excellent all around
power, while yielding a pleasant idle and relatively good fuel economy.We also know that a cam such as Pontiac's 041 - "RA IV"
(230/240 - 114) or similar will produce max torque at a higher rpm, thus greater
horsepower, but at the expense of lesser low end torque, poor idle, poor
economy, and excessive emissions.

Any
Pontiac enthusiast who seeks improved performance but intends to use his/her car
as a "daily driver" should aim for a maximum camshaft intake duration
of 210 - 220 degrees, depending on the engine/situation.Exhaust duration can be a bit greater without an adverse effect.For those who are ONLY concerned with obtaining the lowest possible
quarter mile e.t. ("race" use), cam durations upwards of 225 degrees
will be more effective.Such larger
duration cams are NOT appropriate for use in "daily drivers" because
of their adverse effect on economy and street behavior.A car that is used nearly everyday, city and highway, heat wave or snow
storm, must be dependable, efficient, and convenient to use.DO NOT make the age old mistake of creating a "race" type
vehicle which is actually intended for "daily driver" usage.

Remember
that engine displacement is an important factor when choosing a cam grind.Bigger engines can tolerate larger durations.A Pontiac 068 grind will act a bit "wild" in a 350, but act
"mild" in a 455.Also,
heavier vehicles, and vehicles with low numerical rear-end gearing will be
better off with a lesser cam duration, where lighter vehicles, and vehicles with
higher numerical rear-end gearing can get away with a greater duration.

COMPRESSION

Once
you have a cam duration figure in mind, attention must be paid to compression
pressure.Optimum compression
pressure is 160 - 170 psi, at least with old Pontiacs.Too high a compression pressure will yield too high a peak combustion
pressure and thus cause detonation.Too
low a compression pressure will yield a low combustion pressure and thus poor
performance and poor economy.

Some
well-blueprinted Pontiacs have been known to handle pressures upwards of 170 psi
when using 93 octane fuel without detonation.But considering the inconsistent and often poor quality of
today's fuel, it is much wiser to aim on the low side of what might technically
be the maximum useable pressure.Detonation
must be avoided at all costs.We have found that pressures of 190+ psi will cause
detonation, overheating, "run-on", etc., unless 98+ octane fuel is
used, or ignition timing advance is reduced way below optimum.Remember that you should expect to often receive fuel with an
actual octane rating of less than what you're paying for.Also, at any given time, a few cylinders may be running a tad hot/lean
due to one of several common problems (uneven coolant flow through the block,
uneven fuel mixture distribution, etc).For
street use, we vote to dial in a "safety zone" and stay
detonation-free.

Compression
pressure is determined by both the compression ratio, and the intake valve
closing event.The compression
ratio is determined by the cylinder head combustion chamber, head gasket, deck
height, and piston face volumes (dead volume), with respect to the total
cylinder volume swept by the piston (swept volume).The intake valve closing event is determined by the intake duration and
intake lobe centerline of the camshaft, as well as the actual position of the
cam as installed with respect to the crankshaft.Thus consideration must be given to the matching of the cam
and heads to yield the desired compression pressure.It is too common an error that a new cam grind is swapped in
without paying attention to compression resulting in an engine possibly less
powerful or less efficient than originally.

EXAMPLE

Begin
your project by measuring the existing cam and compression specs as a starting
point, and then use the previously mentioned "formulas" to get an idea
of what parts are needed to create an optimum combo.It is very important to measure all the variables of your own project
engine.Do not rely on existing
texts/manuals for measurements.Texts
are often inaccurate, and original parts of your engine may have been modified
or swapped prior to your ownership.

We
recently disassembled an excellent bone stock 1975 Pontiac 400 from a Trans-Am.Actual compression ratio was measured at 7.8:1.Cam was a Pontiac 066 and measured in at 197/206 - 112, as specs call
for.Even with the original
stretched timing chain, cam was found positioned at a 107 degree intake lobe
centerline, also as specs call for.This
places the intake closing of this cam at 26 degrees atdc, as measured.Before we had disassembled the engine, cranking cylinder
pressure was measured at 135 psi across the board.

In
order to increase performance, we decided to replace the original 066 cam with a
Pontiac 068 cam.If we install the
068 cam "straight up", the intake closing event will be at 39 degrees
atdc.This is 13 degrees LATER than
with the original cam (13 degrees retarded from original). Refer back to our
formulas, and note that the engine would now produce roughly 15 psi LESS
compression pressure with the 068 cam due to the later intake closing - from 135
psi down to 120 psi.A compression pressure of 120 psi is too low to support optimum
efficiency.Desired pressure is
160-170 psi, so we need to increase pressure by 40-50 psi.Refer back to our formulas, and note that it is possible to gain 40-50
psi by increasing the compression ratio by 1.5 to 2 points.Our target compression ratio is thus 9.5:1.In order to reach this compression ratio with a .030" overbore and
typical flat top replacement pistons, we'd need heads with 82cc combustion
chambers.Since we cannot readily
get our hands on heads with such a chamber size, we've chosen a pair of cheap
and plentiful 93cc "6X" heads (off a `77350).These heads will be
milled .040" to achieve a chamber size of 86cc.The compression ratio will be about 9.2:1.Estimated compression pressure is 150-155 psi - close enough,
considering the ease and low cost of this plan.

To
gain a bit more psi, we can advance the cam.Or, we can try a different cam grind with similar duration to the Pontiac
068 cam, but with a tighter lobe separation which will automatically advance the
intake closing event with relation to the other events.The amount of overlap gained by reducing the lobe separation from say 116
to 112 degrees on cam with 068 size duration will not cause any measurable
adverse effect on economy.

A
pair of older "16", "62", or similar "high
compression" heads could have been chosen, but with their small 72cc
chambers, estimated pressure would be up in the 185+ psi range with our combo -
too high for our purposes.

Keep
in mind that if the wild Pontiac 041 cam was installed "straight up"
in the above engine, the intake closing event would be 47 degrees atdc, 8
degrees later than with the 068 cam.This
alone would drop pressure by about 10 psi, and thus the 72cc heads (10.4:1 c.r.)
might just slip by as detonation-free.Estimated
pressure is 175 psi - right on the line.

OVERLAP

A
common misconception is that camshaft overlap reduces cranking cylinder
compression pressure.Not so.Overlap indeed reduces peak combustion pressure by diluting the incoming
intake charge with exhaust, and by sending some of the combustible mixture out
past the exhaust valve before ignition, but this does not affect compression
pressure.The intake valve closing
event is the only cam related factor that noticeably affects compression
pressure.

An
experiment was conducted: a given cam, as installed in a custom 9.9:1 c.r. 455,
yielded about 185 psi.Detonation
was evident.Cam had only 1 degree
of overlap, and the intake closing was at 39 degrees atdc.A new "larger" aftermarket cam with a full 14 degrees of
overlap, but SAME intake closing as the previous cam (39 degrees), was
installed.(New cam had greater
duration and a tighter lobe separation.)Cranking cylinder pressure was exactly the same - 185 psi.Other engine characteristics changed, but detonation was still present.(Fuel metering and ignition timing were correctly tuned for each
application.)

The
first cam was then refitted, but was retarded 10 degrees from the original
position so that the intake closing was now at 49 degrees atdc.Pressure dropped from 185 to about 170 - the tendency of detonation was
noticeably reduced.(The optimum
set-up for this particular engine was ultimately achieved by reducing the
compression ratio and running the smaller cam slightly advanced.)

Cylinder
compression pressure effects the amount of peak combustion pressure to a greater
extent than does the amount of overlap, per degree of change.So, for those trying to reduce detonation problems in original "high
compression" engines by merely swapping the cam, be sure to get a cam with
a wide lobe separation and thus a relatively late intake closing.Note that TOO late an intake closing event will adversely effect street
performance.Such allows an
excessive amount of fuel mixture to be pushed back into the intake, creating
significant reverse pulses which will hurt low end performance and can even
upset carburetor operation.

The
above information is general, and is intended as a guide.Figures are approximate, and will vary with different situations.Also, remember that "budget" measuring devices often have large
error margins.(Inexpensive
compression gauges will vary from each other by as much as 15+ psi, etc.)

It's
always a good idea to consider tech articles and recommendations, but you can
never avoid experimenting with your own project when optimum results are
desired.If you want it done right,
you must make your own educated decisions based on your own specific data, and
do some trial & error testing, becauseevery situation is unique.

78blackbird@thepontiactransampage.com
Feel free to drop me a note. * I am looking for some good articles for the third
and fourth gen birds. If you have any that you would like to see on this site
send them to me and I will post them on my site.

The information in here is just an outline.

The author claims no responsibility for the info contained in these
pages.